My first love is (besides my family which always comes first ;) www.Gymbohaven.com - a line identification and informational site for moms who love the Gymboree brand clothing. I started the site years ago for myself but it just grew out of control and into Gymbohaven. Our newsletter goes out to 12,000+ moms right now :)

My second love is reading - as you can tell on the far right, there's tons of books I've read, reviewed, reading at the moment and wanting to read. Let me know your thoughts on them!

My last love is collecting fairies - the rocker kind. I've got the coolest collection thanks to my family and friends. Mike even got me one from England when he was stationed over there and its all pewter and stands about 12inches high.

The organics were a surprising treat - I've never done organic with Amber when she was growing up. It wasn't huge back then as it is now. They weren't bad - the kids seemed to like them. And its a great alternative - I know a lot of moms who have to have organic only foods.

I loved having this HouseParty - Can't wait to have more!! Keep an eye out!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Coupons, Recipes, and More on Breakstone’s Sour Cream Holiday Destination for Moms

Breakstone’s, makers of all natural, triple churned sour cream, just launched Better with Breakstone’s for families to make the most of the holiday season! From party-pleasing recipes to organizational tips, Better with Breakstone’s is the ultimate resource for Moms this winter. The holiday destination features a Blogger Challenge where three food bloggers whip up their favorite family recipes with sour cream as the showcased ingredient! We need YOUR HELP voting for the best creations. Each time you vote, you’ll be entered for a chance to win up to $1,000!

Better with Breakstone’s is the brand new destination for all things seasonal. Print free coupons, check out party planning tips, discover new recipes, and watch featured videos to learn how to incorporate sour cream into your favorite holiday classics. Bet you didn’t know it’s perfect for keeping cakes and pastries wonderfully moist and fluffy – your relatives will never believe it!

To get in the spirit of sharing, three bloggers were asked to incorporate sour cream into their families tried-and-true classic holiday recipes. This season, Amanda’s Cookin’, My Baking Addiction, and Iowa Girl Eats took the challenge. Read each blogger’s bio to learn a little bit more about their skills, then check out the menus they’ve come up with and vote for your favorite. When you vote, you’ll be automatically entered for a chance to win BIG!

Voting starts November 15th and ends December 20th, with prizes awarded each week:

November 22nd - $250 gift card awarded to one winner

November 29th - $250 gift card awarded to one winner

December 6th - $250 gift card awarded to one winner

December 13th - $500 gift card awarded to one winner

December 20th - $1,000 gift card awarded to one grand prize winner

About Breakstone’s
Breakstone's brand is produced by Kraft Foods Incorporated. Breakstone's products include sour cream and cottage cheese, and are sold in the eastern, southeastern and midwestern United States. In the western United States, the products are sold under the brand name of Knudsen.

Note
The Blogger Challenge Sweepstakes is sponsored by Meredith Corporation, not Breakstone’s.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

We all want our children to grow up to be compassionate adults who want to help others. That's why we're always on the lookout for good ways to encourage character and development. Our good friends at Primrose Schools, the leader in educational childcare, recommend that parents make an effort to introduce volunteerism at a young age.

That's why Dr. Mary Zurn, Vice President of Education for Primrose, is offering parents the four easy steps outlined below to start their children on a path to meaningful volunteerism.

Here are 4 Steps to getting your family interested in volunteering:

Step 1: Clarify your personal goals and motives for wanting to include your child in volunteer activities. Volunteering is a wonderful way to a share your values with your child. Pick a cause that is meaningful to you and your family rather than one that is simply convenient.

Step 2: Explain the importance of volunteerism and the contribution volunteers can make. A child's favorite question is "why?" Keep your answers simple and concrete. For example, if you are going to volunteer at the food bank, tell your child that "The food bank has lots of food for people who need it, and it will be our job to sort the food so that people are able to find what they need."

Step 3: Choose volunteer activities to do with your children that are age-appropriate. Children as young as three can begin volunteering. At this age they begin to enjoy participation in group activities and are better able to follow directions. Remember that a preschooler's concept of the world is not very large and is usually limited primarily to their home, neighborhood and school; therefore, it is important to keep the activity within the realm of what they can imagine. A few examples:

Participate in "clean the park" activities. Be sure to have your child wear gloves.

Take recyclables to recycling collection centers.

Act as a companion to the elderly in retirement or assisted living homes. Simply listening to their stories and relieving their loneliness provides multiple benefits for the senior citizen and your child.

Participate in local races and walks that raise money for a charitable cause that you think is important; most races have a shorter race for children.

Sort food at a food bank. Be sure to confirm that children are welcome to volunteer and that it will be a safe environment.

Step 4: Find a child-friendly not-for-profit. Ask the following questions to help you select the volunteer opportunity that is right for your family:

Does the organization have experience with and a history of successfully working with children and families? Will the organization provide me with a reference from another family who has volunteered with them?

Will the organization staff welcome my child's participation?

Is there a specific job that my child can do successfully? Who will show my children what to do?

Are there special clothes or supplies needed for my child to volunteer with this organization?

Does the organization conduct appropriate background screenings on its staff? Does the organization have insurance if there is an accident while your family is volunteering?

Can the organization provide a concrete example that will help your child understand how his or her efforts benefit others?

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The holidays are a time for whipping up treasured recipes to share with our friends and family and indulging in all of our favorite confections. One treat is so synonymous with the happiest time of the year that it's even on Santa's wishlist! Whether you bond with your family over a batch of gingerbread men or gift all of your goodies, cookies are the sweetest way to ring in the season.

Our friends at Karo® know how much effort we put into our cookies. That's why they're giving baking enthusiasts everywhere the chance to share their best cookie and cookie bar recipes with their new Cookie Exchange Application on Facebook. The app allows you to submit your own recipe, let your friends know you've entered and vote and comment on your favorites. By participating, you create a "living cookbook" to encourage baking and cookie exchanging all year long. Plus, you could win amazing prizes from Cadco, KitchenAid®, Williams-Sonoma, Vollrath® and CookieCutter.com!

MY favorite cookie recipe isn't a cookie! Chocolate Peanutbutter Balls - my husband hates it when I make them cause I make a million at a time and freeze them (they are best frozen) and he finds himself in the freezer all winter LOL

Melt wax/bark and chocolate on med heat until smooth with a double boiler. Dip balls in chocolate. Cool on wax paper.

HINT! I have done both…. Use toothpick to tip balls into chocolate mix. OR I use a skewer and another skewer to get it off lol. Then at the end I put just a little bit of chocolate on the top to cover the hole that was made.

The batch makes 200 good size ones or 400 small ones.

"Disclosure: I was entered for a chance to win an ACH prize package in exchange for this post. No monetary exchange took place."

I just received my holiday showcase and I wanted to share it with you before all the moms come over and peek themselves!

MomSelect sent us Play-Doh Shape and Spin Elmo, Play-Doh Mega Fun Factory, Sneaky 3D Puzzle from Patch Products, The NEW Smallfrys from BuildaBear, Playmobils Child's First Day at School Kit - take a look below for ideas for the holidays season!

Who doesn't love Play-Doh!! Amber still gets it out every so often to play with it and make huge designs lol. This is cute, they get to learn their shapes, colors and more. Definitely worth it! Retails for $19.99

Discovering is fun with PLAY-DOH compound and Sesame Street! Elmo has two fun play modes. In mode 1, Elmo helps your child identify shapes and then counts them as your child makes them. In mode 2, Elmo prompts your child to make various shapes. Together, they'll have lots of fun creating PLAY-DOH triangles, circles and more.

This one is soooo up Ambers alley!! She won't give it back! lol Retails for $29.99

Keep it moving and keep the fun coming with this awesome moving MEGA FUN FACTORY conveyor belt set! Load your PLAY-DOH compound in one end and turn on your conveyor belt to stamp out pretend toys or food from one of the two gear molds. Keep your conveyor belt running and you can stamp out tons and tons of fun creations -- it's non-stop imaginative action! Plus, when you're ready to "shut down" the "factory" for the day, you can even store up to six cans of PLAY-DOH modeling compound right in the set so they're all ready for the next time you turn it on.

Ok Amber wasn't into this, but the neighbor boys were! They loved it. Retails for $14.99

This 46-piece puzzle is full of surprises! Put together the colorful safari scene and then slip on the included 3D glasses for a magical experience! It looks like the animals are so big and lively. Then, notice that all the letters of the alphabet and numbers 0-9 hidden in the picture...sneaky, huh? Find them all! Finished floor puzzle is 2 x 3 feet - that's humongous! Ages 3 & Up

Right now these guys are 2 for $20 with the code 95510 (can't use more than one code per order)
There's also a $5 off $10 code too right now 95428

I LOVE THEM!! They are the cutest, softest things, BAB has come out with. And the fact that they are in a little fry box is adorable. Perfect for the little ones or a STOCKING STUFFER!! My favorite is the doggie in the ducky outfit lol

The limited edition collection includes eight pre-stuffed animals which are smaller versions of past and present Build-A-Bear Workshop favorite furry friends. They come packaged complete with their very own “nutritional friendship information” on back. Although they are small, each build-a-bear smallfrys furry friend has big personality.

Big build-a-bear smallfrys fun is also available at buildabearville.com®, the company’s virtual world. Each of these furry friends comes with a code to receive free gifts at buildabearville.com. When Guests redeem their code online, they receive a virtual accessory bag themed to carry their build-a-bear smallfrys friend and a doll house style furniture item. When Guests click on the item, it opens up to a new smaller room, the perfect size for a build-a-bear smallfrys virtual furry friend.

And lastly Playmobils Child's First Day at School Kit- do you remember the cones our moms made for us, for our first day of school, with tons of goodies inside (ok I might be dating myself here lol) but it was a tradition when I was VERY young that the parents did this for our First Day of School - Retails for $3.29 Cute stocking stuffer!

I hoped you loved looking at the showcase and came up with some new ideas for christmas! One more thing to leave you with - if you having a holiday party - MomSelect gave me a great recipe for the kids and adults too!

Mix the popcorn and cereal together in a large bowlGently melt the chocolate chips by placing in the microwave for 1-2 minutes (do it in increments of 30 secs and stir each time)Pour the chocolate over the cereal/popcorn mix and gently stir to combinePour the mixture (more like spoon it lol) into 12 cupcake liners and let it sit for 30 mins.

LOVED these!! I think you will too :)

Note: all opinions are my own, all products were given free to review.

Monday, November 15, 2010

I was excited to review this new daiper bag! As soon as I heard that you could 'clic-it' and add accessories. I remember having a bulky bag, with a nursery theme on it (they didn't have 'cool' bags back then) and you dug for years to find the wipes, daiper, nippy... anything!

I was given the diaper bag, the organizer pouch and the bottle holder - And who wants this thing?? My daughter and my husband - he thought it was just a cool bag. So its definitely dad approved and he can use it without being caught out with a 'mom bag'.

What I loved is the long strap. What I was suprised to find is the the bags top zips off if you want it too, so that you could hang it over a stroller and not be having to flip the top bag, its just open and ready for you. See all the clip areas inside and outside the bag and you can see the colorful top has its own zipper.

Tons of room inside, tons of 'clic-its' to add on things and find them easily.

Watch the video below for yourself to see how cool Clic-It is :)

Now you can go to the Clic-It website and see more items they carry. This is a mom, dad and kid approved bag!!

DON'T FORGET!! Clic-It is kicking off the “Gearing Up for Baby” contest from November 15 – December 24. Log onto www.clicitbag.com for details on how to enter for a chance to win a prize pack including a new Clic-It diaper bag and accessory assortment (retail value: $117.00).